Pathoanatomy of the lower cervical spine facet joints in motor vehicle crash fatalities

Summary Non-lethal injuries to the cervical spine facet joints have previously been described in decedents from motor vehicle crashes and in clinical settings these joints have been identified as potential culprits in chronic neck pain syndromes. The aim of this study was to conduct a detailed exami...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forensic and legal medicine 2009-07, Vol.16 (5), p.253-260
Main Authors: Uhrenholt, Lars, DC PhD, Charles, Annie Vesterby, DMSc, Hauge, Ellen, MD PhD, Gregersen, Markil, DMSc
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents, Traffic
Adult
Autopsy
Cartilage - injuries
Cartilage - pathology
Case-Control Studies
Central Nervous System Depressants - blood
Cervical spine
Cervical Vertebrae - injuries
Cervical Vertebrae - pathology
Ethanol - blood
Facet joint
Female
Forensic Pathology
Hemarthrosis - pathology
Humans
Male
Microscopy
Middle Aged
Pathology
Post-mortem
Road traffic crash
Spinal Fractures - pathology
Substance Abuse Detection
Zygapophyseal Joint - injuries
Zygapophyseal Joint - pathology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Summary Non-lethal injuries to the cervical spine facet joints have previously been described in decedents from motor vehicle crashes and in clinical settings these joints have been identified as potential culprits in chronic neck pain syndromes. The aim of this study was to conduct a detailed examination of the lower cervical spine facet joints in a forensic cohort of motor vehicle crash victims and controls using comparable data from medicolegal autopsy, stereomicroscopy and histological evaluations. Injuries to the cervical spine facet joints were common in the trauma cases and included facet fractures, haemarthrosis, and disruption and bleeding in the synovial folds. The injuries could not be reliably verified on stereomicroscopic evaluation, and routine autopsy procedures did not reveal any of the injuries to the facet joints. Despite the presence of these pathoanatomical lesions in road traffic crash fatalities their prevalence and potential clinical implications in survivors from motor vehicle crashes is unknown.
ISSN:1752-928X
1878-7487
DOI:10.1016/j.jflm.2008.12.014